The Arc Legion
by RuskiDagnabbit
Summary: Over a decade after Apollyon's death, A group of seven have banded together to rage against her will, fighting for peace, killing all who oppose them, and siding with anyone wanting peace. After deciding that Ashfeld was doomed to death, they decide to travel east, until they find something, however what they discover will be far beyond what they expected.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Shunned

The Arc Legion was a proud one, brave and assertive in both their manners and methods, that was a fact one could not simply ignore, especially for it's size, having only eight members to the hold, they walked the battle as equals, with no foot soldiers, no distractions, just them, and their blades, hammers, poleaxes, and other methods of murder. While one could not deny their bravery, everyone, and I mean everyone, every Viking, every samurai, every knight, all of them would say their beliefs are idiotic. To appose the will of Apollyon, even a decade after her death, was seen as perhaps the most absolute death sentence... and yet despite this, The Arc Legion was yet to lose a single man, their manpower having only grown over the last three years, from the original two, to it's now minimalistic eight. Every time a battle raged, The Arc Legion came, they slaughtered everything that moved on that battlefield, until only they, or a new member, were left, then they surged back into the forests or icy wastelands they came from, heading for the next battle. They understood exactly what Apollyon wanted, and would not fall for it, they had attempted to turn the greatest powers of factions to their side, and it only worked on one occasion, although all of his men abandoned him to the war anyway.

The group's eight members consisted of warriors, those who had seen the war firsthand, and knew that it was most definitely not the path of righteousness, nor any path that wouldn't lead to a swift death.

The most recent addition was Sverker, a Berserker of unparalleled skill, equally matched to his brutality. The only viking of The Arc Legion, he was originally a legend amongst the vikings, now a mere wisp of what he used to be, he agreed to join The Arc Legion after they appeared to his outpost, however his warchief, and subsequently all of his men, went against him and put a blade in his back, so the Legion wiped the outpost, and supposedly Sverker with it. Loud-mouthed, often clumsy-footed, and a large fan of taunts, Sverker is a welcome addition to the ranks.

Next was the most recent addition from the knights, an old legend who had a hand on the death of Apollyon, in fact, it also happened to be her right hand man, Holden Cross, The Lawbringer. Little explanation is needed to describe Cross, he was long thought dead during Apollyon's raid, he had lived in the woods, killing anyone who crossed him, and using their supplies to get by. However he found himself curious at the sheer diversity of The Arc Legion, after all, a group of knights, Vikings, and samrai, all walking together is not a common sight, so he questioned, and then joined.

The latest samurai addition came in the form of an Aramusha, who has long since forgotten his name, he merely calls himself Tengu now, after some sort of ancient demon he remembered. He joined purely out of neccessity, he was an Aramusha, a disgraced samurai, any chance at kingdomhood available, he pounced on, although eventually he began to follow the same tune of the rest of The Arc Legion, marching against Apollyon's wishes. Tengu wields his dual-blades like a butchers cleaver through a the neck of a hen, destroying all in his path in a flurry of wild swings. Lecherous and perverted in nature, it makes sense why he had fallen from his so-called grace.

Next was the Shinobi, a man who swung his kusarigama as if he had no care of what stood before him, refined and reserved, he makes the perfect stealth unit, however when the time for battle comes, he is more than suitable, he calls himself Yamato nowadays, although he seems to be known by many. Yamato was discovered attempting to assassinate Tengu during a battle, however he was quickly stopped and apprehended, he listened to our arguments against the war patiently, and thus he joined, claiming he was "Sick of his pig boss."

Next, was Blut, a Conqueror wrapped in chain and steel, and an iron will like no other. Blut understood exactly what was wrong with Apollyon's teachings, she was indiscriminate, by their thought, anyone who thought in any way could join, as long as they were a predator, although the likes of Cross begged to oppose her thinking methodology. Blut was among her nay-sayers, he had been for many years. Blut had joined after his surrender on the battlefield, in front of his men no less, and to show his gratitude, he slaughtered his old men, and joined The Arc Legion, who thought the same way he did, Apollyon was a bitch who had to be put in her place, even after death. He was also known to never let go of his steel shield, The word Schnee studded into the steel shield, he claimed it was family to him. A true thinking mind, a lover of psychology, Blut was perhaps the most bizarre member of The Arc Legion.

Next, was The Centurion, who only spoke in a variety of grunts, eerie cackles, and a few rather non-descriptive phrases, we simply called him Etiam. He appeared seemingly out of nowhere, but offered a handshake, which was reciprocated, recieving an "Incredibilis!" from him, ever since he has followed. We don't know where he came from, or what he has done, but he is a monster on the battlefield regardless, the only thing sharper than his blade, was his insults.

Next, was the original two of The Arc Legion, the founders. A Warden, and a Nobushi. Both were captured by Vikings during the aftermath of a battle, they were subsequently brought to the arena to battle. During their time in the bloodpit, they got to understand each other, and worked together to not only escape, but take every warrior who stood in the city, although life didn't get much better outside of their enslavement, shunned for their relations, they both lived together as nomads, slowly building their legion over the last three years, on their own, either was a force to be reckoned with, but together, they were unstoppable. The Warden, Reynauld, was known to be honourable, steadfast, and incredibly trustworthy, a secret was safer with him than inside a vault. The Nobushi, Mae, was known to be hot-headed and incredibly assertive. Reynauld and Mae managed to fall into a lover's relation shortly after they were shunned by all of Ashfeld, their dependance on one another sprouting the flower that was their romance.

 _ **We are The Arc Legion**_

 _ **Alone we survive**_

 _ **Together we thrive**_

 _ **Apollyon's will is tainted**_

 _ **Our battle-cry is sacred**_

/

The battle of Sanctuary Bridge had been raging for hours, the knights attacking the final large-scale samurai city, thankfully the vikings had no bearing in this battle, as they were suffering from dwindling numbers, and battle of this scale would end them quickly, instead they tended to stick to smaller villages to ransack. The samurai had held their bridge well, with the majority of their men intact, and their archers suppressing the incoming onslaught, while the knights foot soldiers were rapidly running dry, only their captains remained at this point, the remained of the foot soldiers had been ordered to retreat and alert The King of this mess of a battle. A Centurion, A Peacekeeper, and A Conqueror, standing against a full set of Samurai captains, and the miasma of foot soldiers ahead of them blocking their path.

/

Reynauld stood a few hundred metres to the bridges left, inspecting the battle, this battle wasn't a fair one, he could tell that. Three captains against near double and a horde of walking distractions, now that was a death sentence.

"How's the battle?" Mae questioned from behind him, a small twinge of annoyance in her voice.

"We may not need to intervene, the knights are outnumbered heavily." I grunted back.

Turning, I saw Mae leaving against her Naginata, her mask up, although the annoyance was practically seeping through the eye slits.

"What's wrong Mae? Tengu get grabby again? I swear..."

"No, he surprisingly hasn't done anything dirty, it's just... I didn't want to see my people like this, in war again, so soon after the last."

This particular samurai tribe had just finished a war a few days ago, their resources were running extremely thin, and their foot soldiers were only so big in number, because the majority of the fallen samurai today were mere children in comparison, some appeared to be before their teens, war truly was brutal.

"You know we can't save them Mae, the best thing to do is put them out of their misery, they won't survive the next winter, even if they win this battle, it's better from a blade than the cold."

Mae sombrely nodded, then turned to walk away, presumably to get the others ready for battle.

This was gonna be one hell of a bloodbath.

/

The knights had managed to remove the foot soldiers from the equation, the remained had fled the blood flurry to defend the gates as a final stand in case their captains failed.

The samurai lined themselves across the bridge, while the knights did the same, a few metres away.

Both sides readied their blades and bludgeons.

Three against five...

Or at least, that's what it was supposed to be.

A puff of black smoke popped up seemingly out of nowhere, accompanied by the shuffling of metal against metal.

Soon the smoke cleared, providing a horrifying sight for both the knights and the samurai.

The Arc Legion had arrived, all decked in black and gold, with blood smeared all over them.

Both sides immediately knew...

They were doomed.

/

"HALT!" Reynauld demanded, blade poised equal to his cheek.

"Cease this needless war, knights, samurai, your people need you."

Neither the knights or the samurai lowered their weapons...

"...Very well." Reynauld mumbled.

The Arc Legion all pounced onto their respective prey, with Reynauld attacking the conqueror.

The conqueror began the battle by attempting a shield charge.

Big mistake.

Reynauld slid to his left, dodging the shield by a hair, while simultaneously swinging his blade into the calf of the unnamed shield-bearer. He grunted in alarm, before turning and swinging his flail towards him to smack Reynauld's right.

Reynauld jolted his blade out to the right at the last second possible, taking the conqueror by surprise, causing the flail's chain to become wrapped on Reynauld's blade. Reynauld quickly jolted his right arm back, while swinging his left fist forward. The conquerors face careens into Reynauld's encapsulated fist, knocking him clean onto the floor, now unarmed. Reynauld quickly stood up, and stabbed his blade into the conquerors neck.

Deceased.

Reynauld sighed, not due to the death, but due to the waste of life, that conqeuror could have lived to see another day, had he not been so keen for war, he likely had family that needed him, now doomed because of his stupidity.

Reynauld observed his partners, their adversaries were had all met a similar fate, a quick death, as painless as it could get.

The one standing out the most was Sverker, who was continuously slashing at a corpse while laughing.

He also happened to notice Etiam poking at the corpse of the Shugoki, clearly expecting more passion for battle and blood for such a lumbering man, with a club of that magnitude, He sullenly mumbled "Incontenens." before sauntering over towards the others.

Reynauld attempted to walk forward, but got caught on something while sheathing his blade.

The flail of the conqueror was still wrapped around the blade...

Perhaps this is a sign.

Reynauld removed the flail from its curious entanglement, and begrudgingly wrapped it around his left leg, as a new backup, secondary weapon, he hadn't used a flail before, but it could save his behind one day.

I began walking towards the samurai city, to alert them of their captains fates.

I grunt to the others, and they all follow, except for one.

Yamato.

He was leaning over a dead body, the Kensei he had killed.

I walked over to Yamato, putting my hand on his shoulder.

"What bothers you, friend?" I ask.

"That... that was my father, the last Kensei of sanctuary. He..." Yamato choked back a sob. "He didn't even recognise me Rey, his own son."

I fall to my knees, and tighten my grip on Yamato.

"He was too far gone, too obsessed with this unneeded bloodshed, to the point he didn't recognise his own son... Yamato, that man isn't your father, he appears to have died long ago, this seems to merely be his husk."

Yamato wraps an arm around me, his mask tugging upwards at the corners where his mouth would be.

"Thank you, my friend... Perhaps, perhaps I can still save mother, in his memory."

"Perhaps, Yamato." I reply.

The Arc Legion walks the gate of Sanctuary, weapons sheathed.

The few remaining foot soldiers sombrely walk back through the gate towards their homes, presuming a raid, to spend their dying moments with their family, they leave the gate open for The Arc Legion.

They wander in, slowly, weary of any ambush lying in wait, but weapons still sheathed.

"We have no reason to stay here, or any other reason to be here... Yamato, do you remember where your mother stayed, if she's even still here?" I ask,

"I... faintly, yes, although it may take time." He replies.

"Make it as quick as you can, but we'll buy you as much time as you need. Legion, we follow Yamato, be vigilant."

/

It took Yamato a long, mundane amount of time, an hour or two, to discover what he seeked, however eventually, we found it. A small, quaint house, in the typical samurai architecture, a small river winding past the house, and a large tree outside, the leaves drooping down, touching the houses roof daintily.

"There... that's the one." Yamato stated, pulling his mask off.

"Are you sure, Yamato?" I question.

"I'm positive." He replied.

I nodded to him, while stating "Legion, wait here, remain vigilant for ambush, I will join Yamato."

They nod, and begin to spread out slightly in defensive stances.

I follow Yamato towards his childhood home.

He gently knocks on the door.

…

The door opens a crack, to reveal one peering, studious turquoise eye, which frowns upon spotting me, but once it hits Yamato, the eye widens.

The door swings open, revealing a woman in her late thirties.

"Yamato!" She exclaimed practically pouncing onto him, wrapping him in a tight embrace.

/

A small amount of time passed, with the mother horrified at the actions Yamato had commit for war over the many years he had been absent, but seemed happy with his presence nonetheless.

"Mother, I want you to come with us, on our journey, for peace." Said Yamato.

His mother was obviously skeptical of this.

I decided to speak for the first time since being invited into her home.

"Miss." I state, my deep voice seeming to rumble throughout the small building. "If you decide to join us, rest assured that we shall keep you safe from every danger out there."

"...Do you promise?"

"On my Arc's oath, you have my word."

She seemed content with my answer, after all, despite my disgraced nature, my families name still remained...

An Arc never goes back on his word. It is resolute.

/

We had left the city of sanctuary, however once we reached the bridge I stopped in my tracks, thinking.

The footsteps behind me stopped as well, however one stopped rather abruptly, rather obviously the mother.

"I have been thinking, Legion." I turn to face the Legion. "Ashfeld, I feel, may be doomed... I think we should relocate, perhaps there is a war in another place that we can actually stop."

The Legion agree with nods quickly.

"To the North is ocean, To the West is ocean, To the south is the knights, but to the east, past Sanctuary... well, there's nothing charted back there, there has to be something, some other kingdom, principality, anything."

They also nod.

Tonight, we head East, until we hit something."

I turn and begin walking once more.

/

We had been walking for hours, hours turned to days, days turned to weeks, and the people appeared less and less, now there was nobody around but themselves.

They hadn't seen another face for a month now.

They had stopped to rest for the night, resting against various trees and rock outcroppings. However Mae and Reynauld took small walk a few metres out from camp, for some long required alone time.

Reynauld removed his helmet, while Mae removed her mask.

He looked over to her, and smiled at the sight.

A pale complexion, with slightly small eyes, containing a pair of pearlescent blue iris, which seemed to match my grey-eyed gaze, a small scar lining from her left ear down her cheek, and arriving at the chin below the left side of her mouth, supple lips enough to taint any man's thoughts. Speaking of which, Reynauld felt like he wanted some of her.

Reynauld pushed her slowly into a nearby tree, kissing her deeply, using his left hand to caress the scar along her cheek.

They would have gone further, except...

"eep!"

Both turned, to see Yamato's mother staring at them, her turquoise eyes seeming rather shocked at the sight... perhaps she wasn't used to seeing a samurai and a knight together in this manner, if any at all.

She quickly turns away.

"Sorry for intruding." She states.

"It's fine, miss." I begrudgingly state, removing my mouth from Mae and smirking at her on the way.

She attempts to continue walking, but I grab her shoulder lightly.

"Miss, I can't keep calling you that, what's your family name?" I question.

She turns to us, still walking off, and states "Valkyrie."

"Miss Valkyrie, then." I state, turning back to Mae.

"Care to continue?" I lustfully jest.

Mae smirks, pouncing me once again.

/

It had been a few more days, the trees, which had been green for the last few months, had become red, although not from the autumn season, every leaf was the same hue of red, as if normality, a truly bizarre sight.

We continued walking until we hit a cliff, extremely steep, however trees and the now strangely red grass was still sprouting from the cliff downwards.

"Something's off about this place." Holden states, looking around rapidly, drawing his halberd in the process. Yamato, Tengu, and Holden encircled Miss Valkyrie, ready to protect.

"I agree, there's something watching us, weapons at the ready, allow me to look around for a bit." I stated.

I looked out towards the horizon of the clearing... there appears to be a huge city, we were too far out to hear the noises of the place.

"Out there, a kingdom, I knew we'd find something out here, Legion, follow."

The Arc Legion walks towards this new, mysterious kingdom, weapons at the ready, but unprepared for the experience set out afore them.

 **To Be Continued...**

 **So, this was a thing, I've enjoyed writing it, and since I've been playing For Honor lately, I figured... why not?**

 **Also, there are some facts in this chapter you hopefully picked up on which are crucial to the story, and if you can't see them, well, go back and check.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Arrival

Reynauld slowly, methodically clambered down the cliff, taking extreme caution to avoid any loose clippings of the rocky outcropping, falling in a suit of armour such as a Wardens would crush any man if they fell from this distance, let alone someone the size of Holden or a Shugoki, were we to have one. Although a difficult climb, his longsword, The Noahz-Kal, as a pick of sorts, stabbing the blade into the rocky outcroppings to give himself a handle to keep himself grounded, or better yet, walled. Once Reynauld had made it down, he quickly turned, scanning the nearby tall grass and blood red trees, which still managed to disturb him, despite the war he had seen over the last seven years of his life, from his mere child years and onwards, from street rat, to his Warden days, to The Arc Legion, his days were filled with bloodshed seemingly daily, regardless of his slight annoyance towards the surrounding foliage, there were more important matters at hand, the safety of his people...

Or at least it would have been, if only Etiam hadn't decided to literally fling himself from the sharp cliff head above, landing on his feet in a squatting position, before rising, stabbing the tip of his blade into the dry, drab dirt beneath him, only briefly to hit a pose, one we have decided to call "The Intellectual", which consisted of him getting on one knee and resting his forehead on his flexing left arm... Reynauld had grown used to this, as Etiam seemed to strike the pose every time he did something correct in life, such as behead and/or impale someone with his fist, or actually say a word in english, thanks to the few terms we had managed to teach him, which he still used sparingly, these terms include "Glory awaits!" and other rather corny quotations.

It was very strange that Etiam only spoke in various Latin phrases, since each faction had their own language, however everyone knew English, during a period of peace thirty-something years ago, the leaders of the knights, vikings, and samurai, all came together and decided that they would have their own language to use, however they would also learn English to prevent any language barriers, but still allow for cultures to be respected... Oh, how he wished he had lived to see those days, peace was something that Reynauld had ever seen in his relatively short, although not exactly mundane, life.

Either way, if anybody could dive bomb off of a cliff several tens of metres in height and land unharmed, it's Etiam.

To Reynaulds right, Holden, Mae, and Yamato arrived, with Yamato carrying his mother within his arms, coddling her like that of a baby in her mothers.

Once everyone had arrived at the bottom of the cliffside, they proceeded to fan out with an assertive agility, blades and polearms at the ready, with Etiam's blade somehow already dripping with blood, despite the lack of enemies...

...Wait, that blood was black.

"Etiam, your blade."

Etiam shifts his gaze downwards towards his trusty weapon, now slightly rusted from the many gallons of dried blood matted into the blade, guard and pommel, however that blade was as sharp as ever. When Etiam noticed the blood, he muttered quietly to himself, before lowering his blade, and looking around, in practically every direction, in swift, frantic movements, quick enough to dodge an arrow speeding by. Eventually Etiam's gaze froze in place, staring directly towards the left end of the cliff. Following his gaze, I notice a faint trail of black blood slithering back into the deep red-wood surrounding us. The rest of us spot it soon after.

"Be on guard, there's something following us." Reynauld commands.

The Legion falls silent, One could hear a pin drop, well, if they weren't on soil, they could. The only following sound is the sound of Etiam's blade scraping against his gauntlet, a habit he seems to have picked up long before our arrival.

"Move ahead, slowly, keep Miss Valkyrie in the centre of us." Reynauld mutters.

Slowly, The Arc Legion pushed forward, discovering little but the increase and decrease in foliage as they pass by, with seemingly nothing moving besides themselves.

However, that all changed when they heard a sound foreign to them, it was a loud, metallic grinding noise, akin to that of a gate opening indefinitely at a rapid pace, a continuous sound that only seemed to get more and more deafening the closer they got to the source of the noise, which they still could not see, despite it sounding a mere few feet away.

Eventually, the foliage surrounding was cleared, as a large shriek of a grinding noise played out, silencing all of The Legion, as a large metal object careened from what appeared to be some sort of bridge above them, slamming into the ground, staining the dirt a disgusting blackened brown.

While The Legion should have questioned this whole debacle, there was a bigger concern at hand.

A girl, who looked to be still in her late teens, garbed in a black and white set of robes, had been riding the top of the metallic object, before careening into a nearby tree, which stopped her descent rather quickly.

Immediately, Reynauld sprung to action.

"Etiam, check the girl for injuries."

Reynauld witnessed Etiam chuckle lowly, before placing his blade back into it's makeshift sheath of several leather bindings, kneeling in the girls direction in rather close proximity, gave the girl a once-ever, before turning to Reynauld, and giving a thumbs up.

Reynauld nodded whilst stating "Carry her then, we may still be getting tailed, we don't need unnecessary bloodshed today."

Etiam grunted, and attempted to wrap his arms around her waist to lift her onto his boisterous shoulders, however faltered slightly, recoiling in slight pain. Reynauld looked towards her waist, noticing a small pair of katanas, tied down by black lace against her behind. Reynauld nodded to Etiam once more, still prepared to prevent the poor girl's death from whatever beast prowled on their flank, but took heed of her possibly volatile condition.

The Arc Legion followed the large bridge above them, avoiding getting onto the bridge itself, perhaps they were not welcome here, and placing themselves right into their line of sight would likely be a mistake for the ages on Reynaulds part.

Eventually the red wooded trees began to decrease in density, with the grass slowly turning green in colour, in small splotches, perhaps this area was coming to an end, perhaps they could have a safe travel for once.

Boy, how wrong Reynauld was.

A large beast emerged from the deep red behind them, letting out an unappreciative howl. A beast taller than any man, roughly double the height of Holden's towering frame, extremely muscular and humanoid in appearance, with skin blacker than anything Etiam's charred centurion armour, white, hardened clumps covering various parts of it's disgusting body, seeming to protect vital areas, one solitary eye peering from the white, bone-like mask seemingly bound to its skin, staring directly back at Reynauld, the left side of its face dripping with blackened blood...

...The beast Etiam had accidentally slashed.

Immediately Etiam, who was carrying the girl garbed in black, and Miss Valkyrie, were pushed back behind The Legion, who had readied their blades.

"Heh, that is one big monkey." Tengu sneered, being sure to drawl and slur his words, just to annoy us even more than he already does.

Reynauld stepped into action.

"Holden, Mae, focus on its upper body! Tengu, get behind it, take out its legs! Yamato, try and bleed it from afar! Everyone else...CHARGE!"

Immediately, Holden took a swing of his halberd towards the beasts shoulder, which it replied to by grabbing it, holding its arm outwards slightly from its originally hunched position, which caused Mae to swing vertically downwards on the beasts shoulder, providing a deep cut for the beast.

It attempted to roar out in agony, but instead fell to one knee after the horrifying creatures leg had been hacked into several times, thanks to the work of Tengu.

Sverker had rushed to the beasts side, slashing into the hip several times with heavy, unrelentingly agile swipes.

Blut had wrapped his flail's chain around the beasts wrist, holding it in place, while using the sharpened end of his steel shield to hold off the right arm of the beast, who pushed against the shield in retaliation, giving Yamato an opening to provide some long range swipes.

Reynauld pushed his leg deep into the stomach of the beast, using it as leverage to heave himself upwards, while swinging his blade quickly downwards at the beast, severing the arm completely in one fell swoop.

Reynauld landed one one knee, releasing air from his aching lungs as the weight of his chestplate caught up with him, however he didn't get back up, as he heard rapid stomps from his right. Looking to his right, he spotted Etiam charging towards him, shoving his left hand in a downwards position, his right hand wielding his blade.

Reynauld stayed stagnant, allowing Etiam to step onto Reynauld's back.

" _ **INCRE-"**_

Reynauld raised himself quickly, giving Etiam extra height on his pounce, already understanding what Etiam was doing... he was punching the beast in the face.

" _ **-DIBILIS!"**_

A sickening crack rang throughout the woodland surrounding them, as the beast fell limply down to the floor...

or at least, the body did, the head landed elsewhere...

...The sheer unadulterated power of Etiam was a frightening sight, The Legion was glad to have the stalwart on their side, and worried slightly over what could happen to The Arc Legion were Etiam to switch to a much darker side, he sure had the power and strategical knowledge for such a leap.

However, Reynaulds mind was on other issues.

Whilst The Legion cheered loudly, both for the death of the beast, and the success of Etiam, Reynauld wondered where the girl had went.

Looking over to Yamato and Miss Valkyrie, He noted that the girl was rested against a tree, her body limp, chest rising ever slightly, with her eyes pried open.

Slowly Reynauld stomped over to the girl, blood dripping from his blade, from his arm, from his helmet, from his blood soaked torso, his footfalls sounding deafening to the poor girl.

An intimidating sight, surely.

The girl stared towards the uncanny crew uncomfortably, noting the power of all of them. Anyone who could eliminate such a beast was a force one should not toy with.

"I see you are awake." Reynauld's tired, monotone deep voice wrung from his helmet.

The girl, who would usually never falter in the face of fear, now shuffled backwards as much as she could, her back pressed heavily into the tree trunk behind her, her blades pressing slightly into her lower back, causing a minor discomfort, and a distortion of her expression to that of minor pain. Reynauld noticed her discomfort, but more importantly, her fear. While Reynauld was initially confused, he looked to his blade, and the rest of his armoured body, noticing the blood seeping from the rags of his armour.

Reynauld got down on one knee, and slowly pulled his Arcturus helmet from his head.

What greeted the girl was simultaneously surprised, and consumed with an inquisitive stupor.

A man, with a face narrow and pointed at the jawline, caked in a thick blonde stubble, with equally bright hair to match, which was short enough to avoid touching his eyes, however was long enough to be an inconvenience, unkempt and bedraggled, and embroiled in a thick musk of ash and soot, his face marred with various scars, on the right side of his face, rested a row of three small piercing scars, on the left side of his face, going from his hairline down to his eye, was what appeared to be flayed flesh, presumably from burns, and the most prevolent scar of all.

A straight scar running from the right of his maw, all the way up towards his left eyebrow, barely missing his eye, matching the mark on his helmet almost identically.

"Are you alright, miss?" Reynauld asked, concern weaving deep into his voice.

"I... I'm fine." The girl replied.

"Tell me, what do you remember last?" Reynauld questioned once more.

"I... I-I think I fell off of a train..." She replied.

A train? Reynauld, who considered the term alien, was initially confused by the statement, however guessed that the machine that had collapsed from the bridge above, the one that had caused her nasty fall, and the equally grim bump on her head.

Reynauld nodded, before looking back towards the beast they had eliminated earlier.

"... Tell me, what is that beast we took out called?"

"...That was a Beringel, It's... impressive to take them out... to say the least... Although, I wonder what it's doing this far away from Anima?"

Reynauld stayed silent for a second, before changing the subject quickly.

"Now, who are you?"

"...I'm Blake... Blake Belladonna."

A rather bizarre name, especially to the knight, who was used to women having much more... different, types of names, especially in Ashfeld, although maybe the naming processes are very different around here, or perhaps Blake here is a bizarre exception, with a name suitable for a fairy tale hero.

"Right, so where are you headed then, perhaps we can travel together, since you clearly could handle yourself, but, there's safety in numbers." Reynauld asked, whilst gesturing at her blades.

Blake nodded, before replying "I'm heading for Vale."

"Right... Vale... I guess we'll join you then."

"Who are you, then?" Blake asked.

"I am Reynauld, leader of The Arc Legion, the group you see before you."

"...Right..."

While their conversation would have continued on for much longer, it was interrupted by an armoured hand jutting out towards the girl, with it's palm opened, and small droplets of blood dripping it like juice from a ripe fruit.

A voice soon combined with the extended hand.

"Etiam." A gruff voice stated.

 **To Be Continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Tengu, meet Anti-Tengu

The journey to... Vale, as the semi-petite girl garbed in black had referred to it, was simultaneously a journey of rigorous awkwardness, and a bizarre feeling of confusion, coming from both the girl and The Legion.

The Legion were finding this newfound land to be a surprising challenge for them, they had expected yet another war-torn country of bloodshed akin to Ashfeld, and yet they found themselves surprised. This place was scourged by beasts and man, from what Blake had explained of the living, breathing world around them, the beasts would surely be an issue big enough to unite the populous under one banner? Or were these people so ingrained in their beliefs that they were too blind to see the issues surrounding them? This place was more complicated than Ashfeld could ever hope to be, however thanks to the rather overzealous and oppressive presence of these Grimm, unification into one nation could be entirely possible... The real question, is would it even remain? After all, once the Grimm are eradicated, they will turn on one another again... regardless, a temporary cease fire is certainly better than full-on war.

The Arc Legion were now apparently four hours away from Vale's perimeter walls, the vanguard which prevented the attack of the raging hordes writhing deep within the depths of mahogany The Legion found themselves entangled within. It was a strange trip, especially for Blake, as the Grimm seemed to have disappeared entirely, their presence was practically non-existent over the last few days of travel by foot. The Arc Legion, Etiam in particular, found the scourge to be rather disappointing as opponents, if that beast from earlier was one of their most revered for its combat prowess. Perhaps a horde of runts would be more intimidating, as they were about to find out.

Blake slowly scrambled her way up a tree, slightly thicker and certainly more towering than the rest, in attempt to ascertain her specific location in reference to Vale's outer walls. After scurrying through the cluster of thick bramble above, she managed to barely poke the top end of her head out above the tree, spotting a familiar concrete wall standing tall and proud a few miles out. After practically falling to the bottom of the tree, embedding her blade into the tree and using it to slow her descent just enough to guarantee her legs did not become paste upon landing.

"We aren't far out, only a few hours, give or take." Said Blake, thankful that the overbearing awkwardness of the atmosphere surrounding The Arc Legion was simultaneously an annoyance, and a disturbance to her. An annoyance, purely due to the awkwardness, and a disturbance, due to their combat prowess, they could easily destroy her with brutal efficiency, as if she were mere cattle to the slaughter.

"Excellent, hopefully we can get out of this forest." Said Holden, speaking up for the first time in many days, Holdens strange silence had been very noticeable to The Legion, however they let it be, Holden was likely just aggravated by the three month trip consisting entirely of merciless marching, which was effecting him especially, given his extra chunky armour, whereas the likes of Tengu and Yamato would likely not mind the travel.

"Hopefully we find solace in the bastion ahead." Stated Blut, who had a noticeable Atlesian accent, which was news to Blake, seeing as the man hadn't talked to anyone, at least in the time she had been in his presence, however, according to Reynauld, 'Blut doesn't talk unless he deems it important.'

"Poetic as always, aren't you Blut." Stated Tengu, a small smirk hidden by his beard, thick, surprisingly well maintained, and a sign of his arrogance in combat, since a beard's can be a rather itchy irritant during battle when the blood and sweat begin to seep into the fibres.

"Tengu, shut up." Mae grumbled, obviously tired from three months of walking, since she was the least muscular of The Legion.

Tengu let out yet another lecherous grin, seeping with arrogance.

Tengu would have continued to movehis mouth flap, however a sudden change in the wind silenced them all.

The wind had changed direction, seemingly at random, now pushing force from back wence they came, rather than dead ahead like before. The change didn't seem natural, it had a slight... ethereal essence to it, a feeling of dread slowly encompassing the group, something was changing the wind patters, and they likely weren't an ally.

A deep, guttural howling came from the reddened mountains far off in the distance.

Tengu grinned.

"Well, it appears there's a doggy who wants to play."

As if lady luck had turned its back on Tengu, immediately after his statement, a second howl joined the first, and then a third...

and then a near uncountable amount joined the pack.

Tengu's grin, for the first time in recent memory, had fallen into a tight frown, his expression tightening into a serious one.

The Arc Legion readied their weapons, whilst Blake looked around, adrenaline pumping throughout her every vein within her body, every facet of her body was telling her to run, that out of the choices of fight or flight, the first option had been revoked, there were way too many for nine people to eliminate, or even distract...

But what were they hunting? Why had they been attracted to them? The Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, anger, regret, sorrow, and anything in-between.

Blake then slowly came to the realisation of just who she had been travelling with.

Warriors, clearly used to bloodshed and brutality, no doubt they had taken part in the 'festivities' themselves, some obviously more than others, the raw, unconstrained rage of Sverker, the obvious fury of Etiam, not to mention the violent tendencies of the entire legion, and who knows what demons reside within behind the masks of these seemingly regal and ancient warriors? The steel of their masks could easily maintain their facades, however their true feelings would likely be pushed into battle, used as the spark to ignite the fire that could swallow the world in an instant. However, what resided behind the imaginary mask of Tengu, the only unmasked warrior present besides Blake herself. While that perverted, snarky attitude of his could be legitimate, it's likely a facade, but to hide what? What demons could he possibly possess that requires a complete deviant take his place?

Regardless, Blake had a fight to attend, and she would be damned to let her saviours die in vain.

Slowly drawing her dual katanas, Blake lowered her torso into a battle stance.

Tengu looked over in her direction.

"Your stance... it's so... incorrect." Said Tengu, obviously slightly aggravated.

"What?"

"You are too low to the ground for such a blade, maybe a dagger would suit the stance better, give yourself some more verticality for better vertical slices?"

"Wha-I."

"We'll talk later, we have some friends to attend to." Reynauld ordered in a commanding, yet pensive tone.

Both Blake and Tengu obliged to these orders.

Soon, small blackened beasts began to pour from the bushes, coming in swathes, and quickly encircling the nine, ready for a fresh meal, salivating at the mouth for it, desperation seeping from the beasts mouth like blood from a fresh serrated wound.

Tengu made one last comment before the battle commenced.

"Holden, time to use that 'versatile' halberd of yours, yes?"

Holden merely chuckled.

Then the battle began.

Holden made large crescent slashed horizontally, dealing effectively as crowd control, his mighty blade carving through the bony exteriors of the swarm like a knife through play-doh.

Tengu was swinging his blades with the opposite of elegance, no regal appearance or standard, only violent, brutally quick, efficient slices, carving through beasts, one after another like sheep through a butchers.

Yamato was stood upon a nearby rock outcropping, standing slightly above the rest of the group, launching his kusarigama at beasts nearby, protecting his mother who stood behind him.

Blut was using his shield to bash the beasts back into the crowd, halting their advances temporarily.

Sverker... well, he was just going completely berzerk on the beasts, his passion, his pure lust for bloodshed coming through, cackling like a villian out of a childrens tv show.

Etiam was doing a similar deal of insanely brave, yet stupendously idiotic attacks, stabbing beasts with his blade in his right hand, whilst punching the beasts with a seemingly unstoppable force, each punch shattered the face of a beast, without fail, all while Etiam screamed out latin curses, which Blake could not comprehend in the slightest.

Reynauld and Mae showed off their teamwork by working in tandem. Reynauld was low to the ground in his stance, slashing at the kneecaps of the beasts, stopping them in their tracks, while Mae stabbed her naginata swiftly and gracefully into the brains of the beasts, a true show of teamwork.

Blake, however, was having trouble, there were beasts encircling her, trying to separate her from the pack, a few beowulves had pinned her down, and she likely had no way out. Blake was using one blade to hold one beast's claws at bay, using the other blade to prod another beast away, while her left leg kept the third at bay.

Blake, was fucked.

Or at least, she was.

The whiz of a blade passing by her face, splintering the wind into fragments caused her to briefly look away from the fight, Tengu had arrived, and had beheaded the beast on her right with an uppercut from his blade, he quickly eliminated the one at her boot by hopping over the corpse of the previous, and driving both blades into the beasts head.

Blake managed to deal with the final beowulf, although by the skin of her teeth.

Blake looked around, the horde was gone, now a pile of rapidly disintegrating corpses, turning to dust in the wind, the current carrying the powder back to the valleys they had come from.

Nobody was harmed, although Blut did have a new few scratches on his shield, which he was rather disgruntled about.

"I told you, raise your stance, you aren't going to get very far like that." Tengu said, his voice oddly monotone, with his expression in a similar vein.

Blake seemed taken aback by the comments from the man, while he was obviously a better swordsman than her, she hadn't experienced an issue such as this one before.

"Tengu, what are you moaning about?" Reynauld questioned, while sauntering over, alongside Mae and Holden, who stood slightly behind him, cleaning their blades of blood and soot.

"I want to train this girl."

The Legion froze.

"W-what?"

"I must, she'll die without it."

Reynauld was silent for a brief moment, taking a look at the bigger picture, finding the outcomes within his mind.

Reynauld eventually replied.

"Fine, if she agrees, she's with us."

Blake began to think to herself.

These warriors were clearly good people, they had saved her after all, they were also clearly skilled, able to make nine feel like a million... even if they turned out to be bad people, she could at least learn something from them, Tengu was a better swordsman than Adam, by miles.

"Okay, I'll do it."

While Blake and Tengu were almost polar opposites, perhaps both could benefit from this mentoring.

 **To Be Continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

So I've been gone for a while, i've been busy finishing school, that shite's over with, so i'll hopefully begin updating things.

For now, i'm still far too rusty to create something that requires effort, so i'll do something slightly useful.

This chapter is an author's note in its entirety, and it will list the equipment of all of the characters of the Arc Legion, originally i wanted to leave this to the readers imagination, but i feel this might work better for the bizarre battles planned ahead.

The website listed below displays all the weapons and armors of For Honor, as a reference point.

.pl/

 **Holden Cross - Lawbringer**

To start with, Holden just looks like good ol' Holden, Dheneb set with unique lion shoulder pauldrons, however he no longer has a generic looking halberd, instead he has the "Last Medjay" halberd.

 **Sverker - Berserker**

Armour - Stoneworn set

Weapon - Gripping Beast

 **Tengu - Aramusha**

Armour - Kisaragi headpiece, Stormwalker chestpiece, Lost in Waves arms

Weapon - Empress

 **Yamato - Shinobi**

Armour - Daffodil set

Weapon - Undead

 **Blut - Conqueror**

Armour - Juhel headpiece, Goriate chestpiece and arms

Weapon - Vindictive Ripper flail, Dorian shield (word "Schnee" embossed into centre circle)

 **Etiam - Centurion**

Armour - Orcus chestpiece and arms, Valentia headpiece (all bronze material)

Weapon - Vena Amoris hilt, Angelic Tale blade and handle.

 **Mae - Nobushi**

Armour - Amaririsu set

Weapon- Sugashita

 **Reynauld - Warden**

Armour - Arcturus helm, Saerus chestpiece and arms

Weapon - Rhoswen's Twilight

And that's all for now i'm afraid, i'll update as soon as I can.


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